June Election Primer

The next election in San Francisco will be on June 5. There will be special elections for Mayor and for District 8 Supervisor, as well as a primary election for Federal and State offices. San Francisco and California ballot measures will also be decided

San Francisco Candidates

The special election for Mayor will determine who will be Mayor from the time the election results are certified until early January, 2020. Whoever is elected will be eligible to run for the next 4 year term in the November, 2019 election. The nomination deadline is January 9. As of the end of December, 16 candidates had filed to run for election.

The special election for District 8 Supervisor will determine who will represent District 8 from the time the election results are certified until early January, 2019. Whoever is elected will be eligible to run for the next 4 year term in the November, 2018 election. The nomination deadline is also January 9. As of the end of December, 6 candidates had filed to run for election. Of course, the Haight-Ashbury, as part of District 5, will not vote for a District 8 candidate, but whether the majority of the Board remains “moderate” or becomes progressive will impact us. There is a slight chance of another special election for Supervisor if another vacancy occurs by a sitting supervisor being selected as Interim Mayor, but the timing makes it unlikely for the June election.

So far, 13 candidates have filed to run for 13 seats for San Francisco Superior Court Judge. Most are already sitting judges. Unless a candidate is opposed, he or she will automatically succeed to the office without an election. The nomination deadline is March 9 (or March 14 if an incumbent is not running).

As of the end of December, two local measures have qualified for the June ballot: 1) a referendum to repeal the ordinance passed by the Board of Supervisors last June which banned the sale of flavored tobacco products, and 2) a declaration of policy that San Francisco will not “invite, entice, encourage, cajole, or condone” any sports team that has been in another municipality for at least 20 years and is profitable to move to San Francisco.

Six additional ordinances and two charter amendments have also been filed with the Department of Elections, but have not yet qualified for the June election. For an ordinance to qualify, it requires 9,485 verified signatures. For a charter amendment to qualify, it requires 51,340 signatures. The deadline for these measures to appear on June ballot is February 5. If the proponent of any of these measures has not gathered a sufficient number of signatures by February 5, the proponent can continue to gather signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot, but must do so within 180 days of receipt of the City Attorney’s ballot title and summary.

Further information about measures filed with the San Francisco Department of Elections so far can be found athttp://sfgov.org/elections/measures . (Click on the > next to “Potential Local and District Ballot Measures.”)

California and Federal Candidates

California statewide offices up for election in 2018 include Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Controller, Insurance Commissioner, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. All 80 California Assembly seats are up for election for two-year terms, and the 20 even-numbered seats in the California Senate are up for election for four-year terms. The four Board of Equalization seats are also up for election for four-year terms. The Haight-Ashbury is in Assembly District 17, State Senate District 11, and Board of Equalization District 2. The nomination deadline for State offices is March 9 (extended to March 14 if the incumbent does not run). A list of candidates who have filed a Statement of Intention to run for State offices can be found at http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Candidates/List.aspx?view=intention&sort=RACE&electid=62 .

California uses a top-two primary system for all offices other than U.S. President, county central committees, and local offices. This means that all the candidates under this system, regardless of party, will be listed on the June ballot, and the top two vote-getters for each office will be on the November ballot.

California Ballot Measures

Measures can be placed on the ballot either by the State Legislature or through a voter initiative, but initiatives can only appear on the general (November) election ballot. The ballot measures that have qualified for the June primary can be found at http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/qualified-ballot-measures/, which also has a link to measures attempting to qualify.

We expect to provide more information regarding the June and November elections in the following months.